The Nano will be available through Tata’s 874 outlets
across the country, the Mumbai-based automaker said in a
statement today. Sales had been limited to 12 states as the
company worked through initial orders and ramped up output at a
new factory.

Sales of the Nano, which costs as little as 137,555 rupees
in New Delhi, surged more than 10-fold in December from a month
earlier after Tata began television advertisements, added more
sales points in smaller towns and introduced a 99 rupee ($2)-a-month maintenance option. Sales had fallen on a month-on-month
basis since July because of price increases and safety concerns
following at least three fires.

“Tata Motors is now focusing on the Nano because its
reputation is riding on it,” said Umesh Karne, a Mumbai-based
analyst with BRICS Securities Ltd., who has a ‘buy’ rating on
the stock. “Measures such as easy financing and the maintenance
offer have reassured customers.”

Sales last month rose to 5,784 from 509 in November,
according to a Jan. 1 statement from Tata. The December tally, a
60 percent increase from a year earlier, was below the 9,000
monthly sales record achieved in July.

The automaker in December lengthened warranties to four
years or 60,000 kilometers (37,282 miles) and added the
maintenance plan. It also started offering as much as 90 percent
financing on the Nano through unit Tata Motors Finance Ltd.

The company opened a factory in June with the capacity to
build 250,000 Nanos a year.

Tata’s total vehicle sales, including trucks and buses,
rose 31 percent from a year earlier in December to 67,441,
according to the statement.

The automaker was littled changed at 1,308.45 rupees at the
3:30 p.m. close of trading in Mumbai. The shares gained 65
percent last year, the second-best performance in the benchmark
Sensitive Index of the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Indica, Indigo

The company separately raised prices for some passenger-vehicle models and all commercial vehicles from Jan. 1 because
of higher costs. Prices for Indica and Indigo cars rose by as
much as 15,000 rupees, the automaker said in a statement.
Commercial-vehicle prices increased by as much as 30,000 rupees.
Nano prices didn’t change.

Tata in November said it would retrofit Nanos with
additional protection in exhaust and electrical systems after
the fires. Investigations concluded that the reasons for the
fires were “specific” to the cars involved, the company has
said.

The November sales tally was the lowest for the Nano since
the 624-cc car went on sale in 2009. Ratan Tata, the automaker’s
chairman, decided to develop the car after seeing a family
riding on a scooter.